Fallen Shadow
by Bittersweet Nanny
Summary: Slightly AU; Elsa has caught Man in the Moon's attention, and is offered to join the guardians and spirits, but she refuses to leave her sister and kingdom behind. Will Jack be able to convince her? And why does Pitch show such a sudden and dangerous interest in the queen?
1. Fear

**A/N: **_I have matured from all the dumbness. Please do enjoy._

_**#**  
_

The night sky above reminded The Nightmare King of a striking, dark beauty, wearing shiny diamonds all over, like a navy blue blanket that covered the earth, glittering in all the right places. Pitch, in fact, found it quite breathtaking, and he did not find a lot of things breathtaking. But it was simply impossible not to stare at it, for it was so amazingly entrancing. But the very best thing about night was the _fear_ that came with it. Little children enjoyed watching the stars alright, but when they weren't struggling to keep their pretty, little eyes of the _sky_, they were mostly afraid. They didn't enjoy the _dark_ all that much.

It was Pitch's job to make children scared. It was _him_. _He_ was fear, he was the Boogeyman, he was the very reason people were so frightened by darkness, and he _loved_ it. Did he not? Well, he was bound to love it, since he really didn't know what else there was to do, so he loved it, with all his heart, his _pitch black _heart.

Pitch rubbed the dry flakes of dirt off his face with the back of his greyish hand. He stood still for a while, quietly listening to the sound of an out-crying owl, far away, sending out a 'hoo-hoo'-like call. Pitch glanced at the ghostly moon, smiling. "Did you honestly think you'd get rid of me that easy, old friend?"

He let out a loud chuckle and shook his head as if he'd just heard a silly, little statement from the mouth of a young child.

"Well, _Man in the Moon,_ think again."

**#**

Queen Elsa of Arendelle had been feared, she'd even feared herself for a long while. She had been hated by her people and herself, and she had been called 'The Snow Queen' multiple times, which was something she'd ended up reluctantly accepting, there was nothing to do about it, anyway. Being called a Snow Queen was better than being called certain other names, like _monster _and _witch_. She possessed a great, but still dangerous power, the very one of ice and snow. She did not know where it came from, nor _why_ it was hers, all that the queen knew, was that she had it, and she'd learned to somewhat control it by expressing her deep running love for her sister and people. But even though everything seemed good and well, something inside Elsa did tell her that she was not completely safe yet.

But right now, The Kingdom of Arendelle was in peace. The summer had at last returned, and everyone was cheering happily. The relationship between the queen and her dear sister was also salvaged. Elsa was standing on the castle's large balcony, watching as Anna, her sister, with her fire-red hair in long braids, freckled face and pale blue eyes, was clumsily trying to do something that looked a lot like ice skating with Kristoff Bjorgman and his eccentric reindeer; Sven, was it? Kristoff was a tall, sturdy man with messy, dirty blonde hair, a pinkish nose that reminded Elsa slightly of the shape of a potato (she would not tell him that, though) and a muscular body. Elsa didn't know him too well, but he had saved her sister's life, which made him more than welcome to stay as long as he would like.

Elsa had removed her gloves and changed into a light blue gown with sparkling sequins, entirely made of ice, and she felt absolutely marvelous about it, because it made her feel so much more like herself, and free, but she had also thrown away her dear mother's crown when in the ice castle, so another one had to be made.

It was getting a bit late, but the glow from the ice, covering almost the entire castle with it's beauty, made it seem much lighter outside. Elsa lifted her gaze and let it slide from her people, to the moon. It was so strange, the moon was shining brighter than Elsa had ever noticed. It was like it had come to life, somehow. Elsa felt anxiety creep up her back once again. It had become such an unfamiliar feeling in such a short time. Fear.

She knew that the peace she was now blessed with, would not last for long.

**A/N: _This is sort of an alternate universe. Just imagine that everything from the ROTG movie happened, and everything from the Frozen movie happened, but at the same time._**

**_And the guardians and spirits are just immortal people who can do stuff, they're not invisivible._**


	2. Black Smoke

Elsa had breakfast with Anna the next morning. Of course, Kristoff would have been there with them if he hadn't already left for work. Elsa had named him the official ice master and deliverer of Arendelle, so that it would be easier for him to be close to Anna - who had been the one to suggest the title of his job. On the long, wooden eating table was a whole selection of food, which Elsa would probably offer the staff to have for lunch a little later.

There was _spekepølse, morrpølse, rømmegrøt, gomme og lefse, brød med brunost og smør, _and a cup of milk for both of the sisters. It was actually a lot quieter around the table than Elsa had thought it would be, since they had indeed been apart for many years, one would definitely believe that Anna, being her typical self, would immediately start bursting out with questions as soon as they sat down, but she simply just sat there, smiling a little and eating tiny pieces of _spekepølse_ at a time.

"So," Elsa said, reaching for the bread. She had refused to be served today; she needed to at least move her arms and hands a little, otherwise, she would end up going completely mad. "How exactly did you and Kristoff meet? I don't think we've gotten any time to speak of that."

Anna looked up, and redness flared up in her round face. She giggled awkwardly. "We met at Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and sauna, actually. I stopped by to get some winter clothes, and then… and then I was standing in front of the carrots… and then, you know, and then Kristoff came in and said '_carrots_', and then I didn't understand what he meant, 'cause he was like – dressed like a yeti or something like that, so I just looked confusedly at him, and then he said that I was standing in front of the carrots, so he couldn't reach them! And then I stepped to the side, and then we made a deal, sort of," Anna replied, realizing at the end of the last sentence that she couldn't possibly be that easy to understand, either.

Elsa chuckled and covered her lips with her fingers. "Really? What kind of deal?"

"He'd help me to find you so I could make you stop the… the winter, and so that he could keep selling ice," Anna replied.

"Oh." Elsa blinked and let her eyes fall to her plate. A long, painful silence followed. Anna mentally slapped her self about a hundred times, and Elsa ate some _brød med brunost._

Anna finally spoke after a couple of dead silent minutes.

"Elsa?"

"Yes, Anna?"

"This is really awkward. I kind of thought we'd gotten over this part…"

Elsa smiled softly and tucked a lock of her own platinum blonde hair behind her ear. "It's fine, Anna, it really is. We haven't _truly_ talked to each other for _years_. This being a little uncomfortable is pretty much what I expected." Anna smiled back at her, and threw her arms outward. "Okay! Let's not be awkward! Let's see… What have you been doing all these years?"

"Well, when mother and father weren't at home… I used to read. I read all kinds of things, everything from poems to fairytales to song lyrics! Oh, I must teach you to read sometime, it's a brilliant way to make the time pass by faster," Elsa answered.

Anna laughed. "I don't think I have nearly as much patience as it takes to read a whole book! It's so _exhausting_! I mean, can't they at least _try_ to tell those stories a _little bit_ faster? Do they _really_ have to include all those _boring details_? I mean, what's wrong with saying '_he killed the dragon with the sword_' instead of '_he ran forward, fast as the howling wind, quick as a hare in despair, and stabbed the dragon in its throat, so that it fell to the ground with a **bam**! And then it was completely dead. The prince had won_'?"

Elsa laughed again. "Then, what have you been doing?"

"Riding my bike around the hall, or playing with dolls. But as I grew up I started getting _seriously_ bored, so I-"

The doors flew open, and in came a small group of Arendelle's soldiers, the same soldiers that had tried to kill Elsa in her ice castle, actually. "Queen! We have a prisoner."

Elsa quickly rose from the wooden chair she'd been sitting at. "A prisoner?"

They weren't supposed to take prisoners without her permission. She should have expected this to happen. "Take me to him, immediately."

"I'm coming with you," Anna stated, but Elsa held up a hand towards her, and told her that this was none of her concern.

Elsa followed her soldiers down the stairs and down to the dungeon of the castle, which was a dark place, barely lit up by torches on the stonewalls. Elsa had been there only once before, when Hans had taken _her_ as a prisoner, and chained her hands, and lied about trying to free her.

"He says his name is Pitch Black. We found him walking around in the village, and several children were screaming as he walked past their houses. We supposed he..."

"Has a power similar to mine," Elsa said. She took a torch from the wall. "That is understandable. I do not blame you."

"Here it is." The soldier with the name Truls, stopped.

"Pitch Black?" Elsa said.

Suddenly, a thick cloud of dark smoke came towards her, like an animal, slowly going after it's prey. "Queen Elsa," said a deep, hoarse voice. "Now, this is who I'm looking for." Elsa jerked Truls backwards and threw off her cape, so it landed gracefully on the stonefloor.

"I command you to stop!" She made a spear of shining, thin ice and tossed it violently through the air. "Now!" She made thousands of them, and watched as they flew into the smoke.

"Easy, it's just for the show. This smoke... does nothing more than making each one of you terrified," said the voice, chuckling mockingly. "But do remember; fear is powerful."

The smoke was sucked away by an invisible force, and out of the darkness, came a grey-skinned, tall man with a slender body. His eyes were a mix of white and amber, his nose sharp and straight, and his hair spiked and slick. He wore a black cape and a shirt with a V-neck underneath.

He grinned, looking amused. "So this is the one he's chosen? Interesting. Very."

"Who are you?" Elsa growled. "And what kind of power do you have?"

**A/N:** _Spekepølse - A kind of norwegian meat from sheep._

_Morrpølse - Also a kind of norwegian meat._

_Rømmegrøt - A kind of porridge us norwegians eat on the 17th of May, but can also be eaten otherwise._

_Gomme og lefse - Almost like a tortilla, ha-ha, but in sweet version._

_Brød med brunost - An everyday thing for us norwegians today, but a very expensive thing to eat back then. Bread with brown cheese._

_Thanks for reading! Read and review!_


	3. Frost

"Don't be scared, little one. I'm not here to hurt _you."_

Pitch Black laughed, and a big fist made of smoke, slipped through the cage and took Truls in a stone hard grip, making the soldier whimper helplessly. Elsa sent out a huge storm of ice without knowing where the pieces went, without any control. "Put him down immediately!" she commanded in a panicked, shaking voice, not expecting to be obeyed. "He didn't do anything!"

"Sure he didn't, except for hitting me in the head and imprisoning me," Pitch said and made the fist tighten its grip.

"Please, spare me!" Truls begged.

Elsa created a stick of ice, took it in her hand and stabbed the smoke-fist as hard as she could, it was like stabbing air. "Stop _now_!" She roared, and the smokehand disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place.

Truls was lying on the stone floor, sobbing words that were impossible to understand. Elsa sat down on her knees beside him, and saw that the other soldiers had run away a long time ago. She helped Truls to get on his feet and turned to look at the man she had to thank for all of this.

"Are you alright, Truls? If so, I want you to go back upstairs and tell _everyone_ not to come down here. It's an order," Elsa said, straightening out her hands, ready for another smoke attack. When Truls did nothing but just stand there, pretty much stiff and staring blankly into the air, she repeated loudly: "_Go back upstairs and tell everyone not to come down here! It's an order! Go!_"

Truls flinched and stormed up the stairs. "Yes, Queen!"

"You're ruining all the fun!" Pitch exclaimed, pretending to be completely devastated, and theatrically stuck out his thin bottom lip. "I won't harm your loved ones, I cross my heart."

"What do you want? What power is it that you have?" Elsa asked, ignoring his statement. She walked closer to the cage and clenched her fists. "Answer me."

"Relax! It's no biggie, really. I'm just... the spirit of fear, you know." Pitch grinned.

Elsa frowned. She held up her hand, so a tiny snowstorm was formed in her palm. She met Pitch's eyes with a furious glare. "Define 'the spirit of fear'."

"I represent darkness."

"Are there others?" Elsa wondered.

"No. I am the only one. Too bad, isn't it?" Pitch chuckled. Elsa was about to shoot something back at him, when he disappeared, and his handcuffs fell to the floor. He just withered away, and was gone. Elsa turned around quickly, and met a pair of amber eyes, way too close to her. She gasped and stepped backwards. "Stay away!"

Pitch used the smokehand to trap her against the iron bars of the cage, and was about to touch her cheek when Elsa pushed him away from her with both hands. "Stop! I just want to know why you're here! Where are you from?"

"I'm here because he chose you," Pitch replied simply, like it was the most obvious thing.

"_Who?" _Elsa asked. "Who chose me? Where does your powers come from? Where do _my _powers come from!?"

"You're special, Queen Elsa. Very unique, and rare. That's why he chose you!" Pitch said. "But you're confused. You don't have to be. You can find out why you were chosen to be like this, and you can become great! I know what powers you posess. Ice and snow, is it not? Just think about it. What goes together better than _cold _and _dark_? We can make them believe! We'll give them a world where everything - _everything - _is-"

Suddenly, the window of the cell fractured and turned into a thousand small, glittering pieces of glass.

"Don't listen to him!" said a male voice, and on the floor in front of them stood a thin, white haired man in a leather shirt, pants and a brown cape. Elsa had fallen backwards, landed in Pitch's long arms and torn away.

"Jack Frost," Pitch said. "Right on time, as always."

#

**Read and review!**


	4. Broken Glass

**Read and review! **

Jack was soaring around the forest, not really knowing what time it was, but since it was light outside, he thought he'd go with 'morning' or 'noon'. Jack was mostly bored in the spring and summer, because he couldn't make snow for the kids to play in without it being unnatural, and there wasn't so much to do other than that. He flew up in a tree and sat on one of the flimsy branches. It was truly a beautiful day, the birds were singing, and the warm sun was shining bright above his head. After a little while, Jack decided he would make one of those awesome, legendary snowdays in the middle of summer, which would at least bring some excitement into the day.

He jumped down from the birch tree and shot himself high up in the air. "Snowday!" He cheered and swung his staff, so that beautiful, thick, glittering snowflakes started descending peacefully down from the clear sky. "Woo-ho-hoo!" Jack cried out, and flew higher up. He was currently hovering over a huge, Norwegian village with little children, who jumped and gasped as they saw the snow that had magically appeared from nowhere.

"Snow! In July!" a little girl named Bergliot Oladottir said, smiling happily. She started dancing around with her friends; Edvard and Frøya who were siblings with butterscotch hair and filthy clothes. "It's amazing!" She laughed, so that her brown braids wiggled cheerfully.

Knut Fredriksson, a tall, slightly chubby boy with a beige shirt and leather belt, said: "Come on, Bergliot, why are you so surprised? It's not like the Queen can't make it snow whenever she wants. Get a grip." He scowled moodily and started to walk away. Jack shook his head. Someone really needed a touch of 'fun'.

Jack created a tiny snowflake in his hand, blew carefully on it and watched as it hit Knut in the head and melted into his dark hair.

"Hey, where'd the snow come from? Let's catch the snowflakes!"

Jack smiled. "That's better." He flew a little further away, and made it snow even more.

"The Queen must be in a very good mood today!" a woman called Kari said, reaching out her pale, slender hand to catch the snowflakes. "I wonder what's gotten her into doing this!"

What was all this talk about the Queen? No Queen in the whole world knew how to make snow. Jack did. He frowned irritably and formed a snowball with his hands and threw it in the woman's head. "That's for giving the _Queen_ credit for _my_ snow!"

Kari squealed as the water from the snowball ran down her neck and back. "Who threw that!?"

Jack laughed heartedly and flew away, back to the forest. This was most definitely something he wouldn't have any problems getting used to, being the guardian of _fun_. "This is great!" he laid back, floating on air, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing his hair, making the skin on his arms and feet tickle, and giving him a whole new version of the '_I'm free_'-feeling.

_Jack._

Jack stiffened at the sound of a deep voice in his ear. He landed on the ground with a 'thump' and tightened his grip around the wooden staff. "Who's there?"

_Don't be afraid, Jack. I'm contacting you because of Pitch. He's gotten to her. He's gotten to the Queen of Arendelle. You're close to the castle, you must stop him. Tell her not to listen to him. Please, Jack, you must._

"Tell her not to listen to what? I don't even know the Queen!" Jack protested. "Why can't you ask North, or Sandy-"

_I need the Queen as spirit of winter, but that can't be if Pitch manages to persuade her into joining him._

"But, I'm the spirit of winter, ain't I? And who are you, anyway?"

_Hurry, Jack! Go! _

"Manny?" Jack's eyes widened. "Man in the Moon, is it you?"

The voice was gone. Jack leapt forward and stormed as fast as he could through the warm air, trying to find the royal castle. He flew high up and looked down. Well, that wasn't so hard. Before him was the biggest castle he'd ever seen. And Jack had in fact seen a lot of those.

He circled the castle, looking for an opening except for the huge door at the front. Suddenly, a window that led to the castle dungeon catched Jack's eye. He could see Pitch in there, talking to someone. A girl. Well, a young woman, actually, with her platinum blonde hair in a thick braid, blue eyes and fair skin. Jack narrowed his eyes, trying to see better. Pitch was obviously explaining something to this woman, which made Jack certain that she was the Queen. He stepped back and broke the window with his own bodyweight.

It was more painful that he'd thought it would be. The pieces of broken glass were mashed into his skin, making him whimper quietly as he lay on the stone floor. He got on his feet quickly, and put on a serious face. "Don't listen to him."

The Queen and Pitch were awkwardly embracing each other, but tore away almost instantly. "Jack Frost," Pitch said, his voice covered in fake delight. "Right on time, as always."

"What did you tell her?" Jack looked at the Queen, and knew that her name was Elsa. She wore a hunted expression, and stumbled backwards.

"Me? I told her nothing but the truth," Pitch replied, grinning. "Isn't that right, Queen?"

"Stop. Stop this! I want to know exactly what is going on. I want to know who you are and why you're here," Elsa said, breathing heavily and looking at Jack. He hadn't noticed how beautiful she was until now, with her almost glowing, sky blue eyes, probably amazingly soft skin and _damn_; the _hair_. It was almost white, sure, but still gorgeous. Jack's jaw dropped. She wore a long, blue dress with sequins made of _ice_. How was that even possible?

"Are you... a spirit?"

"What?" Elsa said. "This is ridicilous!"

"Your dress, it's made of... ice?"

"Yes, I have... powers. I thought everybody in the kingdom knew," Elsa said.

"What powers?" Jack stepped closer. Elsa fiddled with her finger, looking uncomfortable. "I can create ice."

"What!? That's... that's just like _me_! I create ice, too!" Jack said eagerly, grabbing Elsa's upper arms. "This is awesome! We have the same powers!" He laughed. "But... but, why aren't you immortal? Why are you human? How did you get the powers? Were you chosen?"

"Please remove you hands," Elsa said firmly. Jack did as he was told. Pitch chuckled in mockery.

"You and Queen Elsa are not the same, fool," Pitch growled, his grin fading away. "You're a guardian, she's human."

"But she doesn't have to be, not anymore! Man in The Moon chose her! He chose you, Elsa! You're becoming a spirit!" Jack said, elated.

"No! Please, I don't understand any of this! It's too much. But I do want to know more. I must know more. So... if you don't mind, I would like you to stay in the castle, so you can explain it all to me, but right now, my sister is sitting by the breakfast table, wondering if I'm alive or not, so... excuse me." Elsa said. She turned around, walking up the stairs.

When she was gone, Pitch turned to Jack with an unhappy look on his face. "Who told you?"

"Man in The Moon. Who told you?" Jack replied.

"Man in The Moon. Well, not exactly, but I could feel his fear. He was afraid that I'd get to her and make her go with me, which was actually what gave me the idea of this whole thing. Funny, right?" Pitch grinned.

"She'll never join you."

"How can you be so sure? Who knows if she has a secret, hidden darkness inside? Not you. You don't know her. You just think she's a pretty girl with the same powers as you, am I right?" Pitch laughed. "I saw the way you stared."

"I'm gonna tell her what you're planning to do."

"And why would she trust you?"

"Why would she trust _you_? What do you want from her, anyway?" Jack snapped, seriously considering to attack him. Pitch smiled, rubbing his palms together. "She's powerful, Jack. I'm going to make her realize how much _fun _it would be to rule a world of fear with me as her companion. And if old Manny doesn't make her a spirit, I'll make someone else do it."


	5. Persuasion

Pitch was trying his very hardest _not_ to kill Jack Frost. If he did, Queen Elsa would never join him, and his ambitions about conquering the world and turning it into a place for Fearlings to live would be dead. The castle was an utterly beautiful place, he had to admit. He tried to keep his eyes on the sparkling chandeliers and not think about how very great it would be to just delete Jack Frost from this planet; he _had_ a reason for wishing so, after all. The boy had tried to kill _him_, only a few days ago.

"This is the ballroom," Queen Elsa said. "What do you think?"

"It's really nice," Jack complimented, smiling. Pitch had a clear idea about what the ex-spirit of winter was imagining to do. Jack wanted to make Queen Elsa want to be a spirit herself, and then he would woo her. Pitch couldn't wait to destroy those stupid, tacky plans with his bare hands.

The door was opened, and a redhead with white skin and freckles tramped in. "Did you let the prisoner out!?" she yelled. "He can be dangerous! Truls told me he has powers, too!"

Elsa looked at Pitch. Her big, blue, intelligent eyes drilled into his as she said: "He won't do anything, will you, Pitch?" _Of course_ Pitch wouldn't do anything. He wouldn't hurt a fly, especially not if he wanted to convince a certain Queen to be his eternal partner in… crime? No, darkness sounded better. _Partners in darkness_.

Pitch shook his head. "Of course not!"

"Anna, this is Jack. He's…" Elsa was obviously looking for the right words to use. "He's special. Like me. He can control and make ice, too."

"That's right. It's nice to meet you," Jack said, reaching out his hand towards the redhead.

"And what does the guy without eyebrows do for living?" Anna wondered. "... Uhm, no offense."

Pitch narrowed his eyes. "I do in fact have eyebrows, and will someone please get a bucket of water? I think this girl's hair might be on fire," he shot back. "No offense."

"Hey, I didn't mean it like-"

"Pitch, she is my sister. Will you please behave?" Queen Elsa said.

Pitch ignored her. He made Onyx, his nightmare horse appear in a movement. "This is what I do for living. I create cute ponies out of dark sand. Or smoke. It depends on my mood." A smile grew on his face as he saw the increasing fear in Anna's.

Pitch let Onyx trot over to her and neigh into her ear. "Don't be scared. She smells fear, and if you're not careful, she'll-"

He was rudely interrupted by Queen Elsa and Jack, who had made Onyx disappear by sending a hail of ice after the poor horse. "...bite," Pitch said. He sighed. "I wasn't going to do anything."

"Can I trust you, Pitch?" Elsa asked sharply. "You don't seem like a vey reliable person to me."

"Don't trust him," Jack warned. "He only wants to use you for his own twisted plans."

"I protest," Pitch said.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know, but you need to get rid of that guy, Elsa!" Jack exclaimed.

"I also protest here," Pitch said again.

"Shut it," Jack replied.

"What do _you _know about what Queen Elsa is, Jack? Nothing. But I do," Pitch sneered. "And if she _gets rid of me, _she'll never know."

"_Shut it_!" Jack shouted, and was just about to start another inside-snowstorm when Queen Elsa stopped him. "Calm down. I don't want any of you to use your magic inside the castle or in front of my staff or people. Is that clear?"

"There are books, Elsa. We'll find all the info in books!" Jack said, lowering his staff.

Pitch scoffed. "Books never helped anyone."

"Didn't I just tell you to shut it?" Jack snapped at him. Pitch grinned, entertained.

"Inside voice, Jackie," he said and chuckled. "My Queen? I would prefer to talk to you under four eyes?"

Of course, Jackie quickly objected. "Elsa, you shouldn't," he stated and put a light hand on her shoulder.

Pitch scowled in pure annoyance and rolled his eyes. "I'm most definitely not going to speak to her as an adult, and do no harm, if that's what you're suspecting," he grumbled.

"I don't think you should go with him. Can't he say whatever he has to say to all of us?" asked Anna.

"Maybe I can't!" Pitch shouted, and was tempted to let Onyx at her again.

"Inside voice, Pitchie," Jack said dryly.

"I'll go with Pitch for a short while," Queen Elsa said. "Anna, would you mind showing Jack to a room?" Pitch experienced a moment of shock. Well, that was easy. Maybe getting on her good side wouldn't be that difficult, after all.

Jack, who was quietly fuming, sent Pitch a resentful death glare. But Pitch pretended not to take notice. "This way, Queen." he stretched out a welcoming hand towards Queen Elsa, but she didn't take it, just walked in front of him and out the door. It wasn't really that unforeseen. The woman sure was a lot more trusting than Pitch had thought, but he already knew very well that she wasn't a person who enjoyed being touched.

It was sunny outside, and Pitch could feel the headache pounding in his head. He was able to walk in the sunlight. He didn't die or faint from it, but it wasn't always a pleasant experience.

They stood by one of the big fountains outside in the castle square. Pitch took a second to admire the frozen water that was shooting up in the air. "This is impressing. Queen, why did you go with me? I thought I was unreliable," he said, amused.

"I've learned not to judge people before getting to know them. Now, I want you to tell me everything," Queen Elsa said. "I need to know why I have these powers. You said you know why."

"I do know why. You're a mutated version of the human race, I thought that was obvious."

"What!?" Queen Elsa flinched, and stiffly lowered her head to look down at her hands.

"But... is it only me?" She asked, her voice shaking. Pitch narrowed his eyes. The sudden confusion and fear that was so bare and exposed in her fair face, almost made him feel genuinely sorry for her. She looked so... vulnerable, like she was just about to break, right there in front of him.

"Of course it's not only you. But the majority of others that can control the elements of nature, are cursed. Not born with it, which makes you utterly special, Queen."

"_Special_!? I'm a _mutant_! A freak!" She sobbed.

"Don't think like that," Pitch said, struggling to keep his voice firm.

Queen Elsa slowly collected herself and straightened her back. "I... I would like to know the names of other human... mutants, please."

"How am I supposed to know their names?"

"Don't you?"

"No!" Pitch exclaimed and let out a nervous laugh. "I don't."

"Well, if so... Will you tell me about Man in the Moon and the guardians? And the spirits?" she asked carefully. Pitch pretended to consider it, and grinned teasingly. "Alright, then. Since you asked so nicely."

"The guardians are Santa Claus, Toothfairy, Easter Bunny, Sandman and... Jack Frost. They watch over the children of the Earth, keeps them safe from... they keep them safe," Pitch said. "Man in the Moon, my old friend, is the one to choose the guardians and spirits."

"Did he choose you?"

"No. But he chose you, Queen."

"Yes, I catched that," Queen Elsa said. "Why did he choose me? What does he want me for? A spirit?"

"Precisely. The very one of winter," Pitch replied. "So, are you going to accept the offer? We could do great together."

"Of course I'm not going to accept! I can't... Jack mentioned something about being immortal? If being a spirit makes me immortal..."

"You can still _be _with your loved ones as a spirit!" Pitch said. "Only not as much, but... Think of it! We would be _so _powerful!"

Elsa shook her head. "Why do you want that?"

"Queen, someone like you, with the ability to control an element... you'll become ten times more powerful as a spirit! Please, sleep on it."

"I can't just abandon my people! Or Anna! I'm not accepting." Queen Elsa started walking towards the castle door. "There is a room for you upstairs."

"Why would I stay?"

Queen Elsa turned around. "Suit yourself, then." She left the square. And Pitch was left behind, feeling angry and frustrated, but couldn't bring himself to leave.

**_#_**

**_Do read and review! :3_**


	6. New Type Of Fear

**A/N:** _Hello, there. If you want to see which bunad Elsa is wearing, search for 'BERGENSBUNAD' on Google. **Read and review!**_

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The next day, Anna was still asleep (and _snoring_) when Elsa awoke. She reluctantly put on one of those slightly dull, dark blue _bunads_ with pretty flower patterns on that her mother had used to wear and quietly went down to the breakfast room, where she, to her surprise, found Kristoff, gaping and admiring the chandeliers. He was wearing – as usual – a thick, dark sweater made of tunic with a fur-lined, dark red collar, an also dark red sash tied around his waist, a blue long sleeved undershirt, brownish-green mittens, thick dark trousers, a dark hat, and brown boots with pointed toes.

"Hello, Kristoff. Are you here to see Anna?" asked Elsa and wiped some non-existent dust off the skirt on her _bunad_. Kristoff quickly took off his hat and nodded. "Yeah, is she here? Uh... Your _Highness_?"

"She's still asleep. And please, call me Elsa. Are you hungry? Want some food, while you're waiting?"

"Sure." He sat down by the long table and tried to find out where to put his hat. He ended up clumsily sitting on it. Elsa chuckled.

"Hey, I never got to thank you for saving my sister's life. It was very brave of you," she said as one of the servants poured some fresh milk in her cup. "And I would really like for us to be friends, even though you may carry a grudge because of… what happened."

Kristoff was gripping the food from the table and hungrily shoving it down his throat as he said – mouth filled up: "Whooh? Oh, thoot! Thoot's foone! Doon't woory aboot oot!"

"Ha-ha! Alright," Elsa replied. She turned to the servant: "Will you please tell my sister that her… are you courting yet?"

"I doo noo whooh cooring oos!"

"Please tell my sister that _Herr (_Norwegian for '_mister_') Bjorgman is waiting for her," Elsa said. The servant nodded, and sent Kristoff a slightly strange look as he rushed out of the room.

"Never been called _Herr _before." Kristoff swallowed the food, burped happily and was about to reach for some more. "Uh- may I? Don't wanna seem rude or anything, I'm just, y'know, pretty hungry."

Elsa laughed heartedly. "Eat as much as you want. It's good to finally have a big eater in the castle – no offense."

"It's fine. Doesn't Anna eat a lot? I mean… not that she's _big_, but she has… _such_ a strong, healthy body! I mean… not that I've seen her entire body…"

"Well, it depends. She does when she's stressed out," Elsa said, smiling. Anna had really found herself a male version of herself. He was awkward, but so very _sweet_. "So, when are you two thinking of getting married?" When she said that, Kristoff had just bulldozed another huge handful of nourishment into his mouth, and almost choked on it as he heard the words he obviously hadn't been looking forward to.

"M-Married? Well, I really haven't thought that far," he replied and scratched his neck. "Do we _have_ to get married?"

"Well, you don't _have_ to, but it certainly is tradition," Elsa said.

"I'm not so sure I can afford a ring," he said nervously. "Or a dress, or a wedding, but don't tell Anna!"

Elsa smiled. "I won't. But, don't your parents have a ring that you can have?" Kristoff sighed, he shook his head, staring at his plate. "My parents are gone."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"You should save some money, and then ask her when you're ready," Elsa suggested. "I don't think Anna cares whether you're married or not, but it would be nice to make it official, right? And the dress and wedding is no problem, Kristoff. We live in a castle. We can pay for everything."

"Yeah... but... doesn't Anna have to marry a prince?"

"No."

"But I thought-"

"I'm the Queen, Kristoff, literally. And I've decided that in this land, everyone may marry the one they wish to marry," Elsa said. "Regardless of class."

Kristoff's face softened up, and he smiled a little. "That's cool of you."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, and Kristoff quickly realized what he'd said. "Uhm, I mean, not that you're _cool_, or- you _are_ cool, but not in the _cold _way, but… nice! Nice!"

"Kristoff, it's fi-"

Anna pushed the door to the breakfast room open, and was just about to finish braiding her hair. "Hi, Kristoff! Thanks for waiting!" She galloped over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Morning, Elsa. Let's go."

"Where exactly are you going?" Elsa wondered, still a little startled by the way her and Kristoff's conversation had been interrupted. "Are you going with him to work?"

"Yeeeeees! I can't _wait_! It'll be _so exciting_!" She eagerly squealed and pulled Kristoff with her towards the door. "We're gonna collect _ice_!"

"But, uh, only if it's fine with you, Your High- Elsa," Kristoff said.

"Anna, that is extremely dangerous if you're not as experienced as Kristoff. I don't want you to go," Elsa sternly said. "I'm sorry, but-"

"Don't you mean _Herr Bjorgman_?" Anna joked. "And it's going to be _fine_, Elsa! Just relax!"

"_No_, Anna-" But they were already gone. Elsa sighed. "You didn't even have breakfast…"

**##########**

Elsa softly knocked on the door to the bedroom she'd seen Pitch enter last night, and folded her hands while waiting for him to open up. Even though he'd acted more than strange yesterday, she couldn't exactly _not _offer him food. That wasn't how one treated one's guests. Elsa had already checked Jack's room, but he'd left at night, needing to get some guardian-... things done.

"Pitch?" Elsa said. "I was wondering if you were-" she jumped as she felt a pair of chilly hands on her shoulders. She spun around and faced his mocking grin.

"Aw, you were going to check on me? That's sweet," Pitch said, and chuckled jokingly.

"I was _wondering if you were hungry_, but now, you aren't getting any food," Elsa stated dallyingly, and turned to walk away.

"Ah, come on, Queenie! You can't starve me, either," Pitch said, smiling. _Queenie_? Had he just called her Queenie?

"_Queenie_? And don't you have some sort of secret, spirit-house to go to?"

"Who taught _you _about spirits? You really should get your money back, _Queenie," _Pitch replied. "But yes, I do have a home."

"Then, why don't you go eat there instead?" Elsa wondered. She walked over to the door and put a hand on the handle. "Can't be that hard for a spirit to teleport himself there in three seconds, can it."

Pitch chuckled. He actually jogged after to catch up with her. "No, another benefit of being one. You can get to places real quick."

"Pitch..."

"Let me." He opened the door, bowed and grinned sheepishly at her. "Ladies first."

They walked along the bridge that led to the village, and Pitch groaned loudly in annoyance as the sun irritated his eyes. Couldn't they for _once _just stay inside that damn castle?

"What's the matter?" Queenie asked, her voice sounding as soft and silky as ever. She had her hands in front if her, hanging against her narrow stomach, folded, and let her eyes go from the glittering water to Pitch. "Don't you like the sun?

"Oh, so you figured," Pitch said through gritted teeth. "Where'd the ice dress go?"

"What?" she looked down at her dress, which was a _bunad _with embroidered flowers on it. "Oh. This is what queens are supposed to wear. It's Arendelle's national costume."

"That's a heck of an ugly national costume," Pitch said, looking at the blouse she was wearing underneath, making her arms look slightly... puffy, actually, if that was at all possible.

"Ugly? I think it's rather pretty," she claimed.

"No, you don't," Pitch said, grinning.

"Well, if you say so," she replied with a pissed off expression on her face, which surprisingly, Pitch found quite cute; redness slowly flaring up in her fair cheeks, her thin, pink mouth turning into a straight line, and her eyes widening. "May I ask you something?"

"Well, you're probably going to ask anyway, so I suppose you can."

"What exactly gives you the authority to say things about my _royal _attire, when you're wearing..." she laid eyes on his dark cape.

"What's wrong with the cape?"

"Not much. Just everything," Queenie said and let out a small laugh. It was a pretty sound, beautiful, even.

"That's not very nice," Pitch replied and chuckled. "Luckily, I'm not exactly someone who cares a lot about what other people-"

"Oh, my _god_!" Queenie shrieked. "Pitch! You're... smoking!"

Pitch raised an eyebrow. "Well, I do enjoy taking a cigar every now and then, but-"

"No, no, your cape!" Queenie pointed at his shoulder, where thin, dark lines of his nightmare smoke was rising slowly from. "Pitch! We have to do something! God!"

Pitch truly had thought he'd enjoy the fearfulness in her face, that it'd give him some kind of pleasure and sense of power, but he didn't feel that way. Not at all. Not with her. There was just something about Queenie's _kind_ and _sharp_ness and vulnerability that made him actually _want _to assure her that everything was fine. He _wished _for her to be certain that he was alright, so they could go on with their conversation. And it honestly scared the living hell out of him. How many days had he known her? Two? Barely two days and he was already starting to... but she was the only person that'd ever been nice to him, and treated him as an equal. Of course he was going to... feel some sort of... gratefulness...

Pitch felt fear breathe coldly on his neck. He couldn't afford to actually feel something else than ownership for her. It would ruin the whole plan. She was just an object he would use to get power. An object. A thing.

"It's because of the sun, Queenie. Take it easy," he said plainly.

"Does this hurt?" she touched his shoulder lightly with her fingertips. "Does it burn?"

"No," Pitch replied. Queenie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "We should get inside."

"Oh, yes, we should," Pitch said, grinning and seductively wiggling his 'eyebrows'. Queenie looked at him stiffly for a moment, then smiled. "I did not mean it that way. I just think you've gotten enough sun for today. Maybe you should go home..."

"Perhaps I should," Pitch indifferently agreed, avoiding to look into her so awfully blue eyes. He walked into the shadow of a pole and disappeared into thin air.


	7. Realization

**A/N:** _Got any wishes about what should happen next in the story? Gladly taking requests! _**  
**

**_Do read and review!_**

**#**

The lair was cold and dark, just like Pitch liked it. He circled the golden globe that was placed in the middle of the lair and stared at the tiny, yellow lights that just _wouldn't stop_ glowing. He growled and pulled his hands through his hair. It wouldn't be long now, before Queenie and he would take over the whole world and start a brand new dark age. Wouldn't be long.

Maybe he could just _force_ her into becoming a spirit… but then she would defeat him as soon as she turned. _Maybe_ he could _kill_ her, and then… no. She had to do it willingly, or else it wouldn't work. Besides, Pitch really didn't want to kill her, or force her to do anything, which he hated. He _hated_ not wanting to scare the crap out of her or hurt her or watch her beg for him to stop sending Onyx after her sister.

But he didn't hate _her_; he simply wasn't able to hate her. He was drawn to her, not romantically, but she was just so incredibly defenseless and trusting and… like a child. Pitch didn't hurt children, he just gave them nightmares. He never had physically hurt a child, and he never would. He needed children, for him to become more powerful.

And Queenie-... _Elsa,_ was _nice_. She wasn't in the least frightened by the things he said or his appearance or nightmarish tricks, and… she treated him like an actual person. She didn't brush him off, like the guardians had done, she didn't look at him like he was a monster. She'd made him forget for a tiny minute that he was a resented, cast out creature, and she'd treated him like a friend, almost. They had been discussing who wore the ugliest clothes of them, not who was the biggest, most evil freak.

And she'd been afraid_ for_ him when his cape had started to smoke. She'd actually been worried that he was going to get hurt. Pitch couldn't remember anyone else being worried about him like that before. But… if he told her that he was in fact the _Nightmare_ King, and not just the spirit of darkness, she would hate him, which perhaps was for the best, anyway. He was supposed to be hated and feared, after all.

Pitch felt Onyx' muzzle nudge him in the back, and she whinnied.

"Ah, Onyx, my princess. Are you bored? Would you like to go and create some _real _nightmares?" he patted her neck, and tried to grin. "Go, then." Onyx neighed and took off in a rush. Pitch created a chair made of nightmare sand and sat on it.

He suddenly felt a small sting of loneliness, when Onyx had been gone for a couple of minutes. It wasn't a new feeling, not at all. But it most certainly wasn't a good one. Pitch didn't need to talk to Queenie to feel better. He didn't need to talk to her at all...

But still, he was really damn tempted to.

**_###########_**

Elsa did not have an idea what to do. How many days had it gone since she'd seen Pitch? Or Jack? Or Anna, for that matter? Anna was never home anymore, all she did was going to harvest ice with Kristoff, which was great for _her_, at least she got to move a little. Elsa had a responsibility here in Arendelle, she always had to be available, and there was no exceptions.

Two days, and Pitch hadn't shown up yet. Elsa didn't _miss _him, but she missed having someone to talk to, and he honestly hadn't been bad company. He could be slightly strange, and Elsa had seriously wanted to slap him across the face when he'd called her bunad ugly, but there definitely was something very magetic about his entire being, along with rudeness and overly exaggarated wittiness, of course.

And what he'd done to Truls was also quite... odd. The soldier was probably not so happy that Elsa had let Pitch into the castle.

Elsa peeked out the window, and much to her delight, discovered that it was somewhat clouded today. She put on her dark purple cape and warm footwear before rushing out the door and out to the empty castle square. She felt completely stupid for just expecting that he would show up, but, she was feeling so lonely right now, and... but she didn't want to look like a male-depending woman, either.

"Missed me, Queenie? Of course you did."

"Where have _you_ been? Not that I worried." Elsa blinked in surprise as he appeared in front of her. She was still trying to get used to those spooky entrances.

Pitch pointed at the sky with a long, greyish finger, grinning widely. "Waiting for the right weather!" he circled around her with his hands on his slender back. "And you... you do look like you're ready for a walk in the forest."

"Oh, no. I don't think that's such a good idea," Elsa replied. "The kingdom needs me. I better stay."

"Ah, come on! One tiny walk." Pitch stuck out his bottom lip and expanded his slightly almond shaped eyes. "It won't kill anyone!"

"But-"

"Besides, you look as if you've been sitting inside a castle for the last two days," he mocked. "I'm completely sure that's not the case, but still."

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "Alright. One tiny walk."

"Splendid!" he reached out a hand for her, but Elsa didn't take it. She just looked at it, smiled mischievously and walked in front of him.

Arendelle had a simply beautiful landscape, and what really took Elsa's breath were the snowy mountains and shaggy spruce trees. It was chilly today, but Elsa wasn't affected by it, and Pitch didn't seem to be, either. He strolled relaxed and happily, pulling his hand through his dark, slick hair and scaring squirrels with his powers. Elsa was a bit curious about those powers of his. What was their purpose? When did he get them?

As they entered the forest, Elsa decided to ask him.

"Pitch?" she asked. He turned to look at her, an open expression resting on his face.

"When exactly did you get your powers?"

When hearing this, Pitch stopped abruptly. "When did I get them... That's an excellent question. I don't know the answer to that."

Then Elsa supposed he didn't know the purpose of them, either. Now, she was wondering how old he might be. She tilted her head slightly to the side to get a more proper look at him. "Pitch?"

"Yes?" he groaned irritably, obviously growing tired of her using his name.

"Why don't you like Jack?"

Pitch puckered his lips, then let a loud, barking laugh escape from him. "Because he tried to kill me, that's why! Or, he and his little gang of guardians, to be a little more accurate."

What? Jack Frost, try to kill someone? Elsa sure didn't know him that well, but he wasn't like that at all! Jack was kind and honest, at least from what she'd seen. "Why would the guardians do such a thing? Aren't they supposed to be good?"

"Well, that's the thing," Pitch said sharply, but with a hint of sadness. "They're the good guys, I'm the bad guy."

"Was it because you're the spirit of fear and darkness?" Elsa wondered. Pitch seemed a little startled by the direct way she'd put it into words, but he cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes, recklessly drilling them into hers. Elsa felt a strange, trancelike feeling creep up on her.

"Yes," Pitch confirmed hoarsely.

Elsa swallowed hard as he slowly leaned in, and was eventually so dangerously close, that she could practically feel his warm breath caress the sensitive skin on her face. "You're not the bad guy, Pitch," Elsa said in a low voice.

His mouth was millimeters from hers, his sharp nose was stroking hers, and she innoncently gazed into his half closed eyes.

Elsa could almost feel the sweet sensation of his lips, pressed against hers, of his hot tongue, begging for entrance, but was suddenly jerked back to reality, and quickly realized that he'd pulled back, as if he'd changed his mind.

"I don't think you quite understand, Queenie. It's not like you really know me, or anything."

"What is with that nickname?" Elsa said, laughing stiffly.

Pitch shrugged, and eyed her from top to toe with a boyish smile. He seemed relieved that she'd changed the subject. "It suits you quite well, don't you think?" He had a _british _accent. How could she not have noticed before?

"Not really. I would like it a lot better if you just called me Elsa."

Pitch chuckled. "_Elsa._"

Why on earth had he pulled back? Was it because they didn't know each other well enough? Did he change his mind about how he might have felt about her? Elsa was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She was the Queen! She was supposed to find an ordinary man who could rule a kingdom, a man who wasn't the spirit of darkness.

And she was also not supposed to leave her kingdom like that. She'd been foolish.

"Well, maybe we should get back-" Elsa was interrupted by something cold and wet, hitting her like a canonball in the face. She stumbled backwards and was about to slide down the hill when Pitch grabbed her arm.

He yanked her hard back up and made a face. "Snow."

"Get away from her, Pitch!" Jack was sitting in a tree above them. "He's a liar, Elsa! Don't believe him!"

"Jack, he hasn't done anything," Elsa replied. Jack jumped down from the branch and stood on the ground before them. "And what are you doing here-"

"Elsa, listen to me." He grabbed Elsa by her upper arms, and ignored her bewildered tries to jerk away. "He's evil. He's the spirit of darkness, for Manny's sake! He's the nigh-"

Pitch blasted Jack with darkish sand, and they flew up in the air, hitting each other with each other's powers. Jack roared aggressively as Pitch's darkness exploded against his stomach.

"Why can't you just go back to your little lair, where you belong? And stop bothering people!?" Jack yelled and dodged an attack by ducking. "He's using you, Elsa!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Pitch sneered. "Pathetic boy!"

Elsa created a howling snowstorm between her hands, and without thinking, she fired it straight into the hurricane of powers. "STOP!" she shouted so loudly, her throat went dry. "Stop, stop, stop!"

Then, there was an explosion. A huge one, consuming the forest, like a dark blanket with sparkling, icy patterns.

And everything went black.


	8. Shattered

**A/N: **_I just found out I have about 0-3 readers, and started to feel a little pathetic, but that's okay. Enjoy, anyway._

_#########_

_"__What did you do to her?"_

_"__I didn't do a thing!" _

_"__Sure, I can see that!" _

_"__Pitch, just go!"_

_"__Everyone heard the explosion, what happened!?"_

_"Who did it?"_

_Something _had happened in the forest. Pitch wasn't sure what. He wasn't sure of what it was that'd pushed Elsa so damn hard backwards, but he was suspecting that him, Jack and Elsa's powers had clashed and created an explosion that Elsa, who was mortal, wasn't strong enough to handle.

Her sister was mad. Her round face was burning up with redness, like a tomato, and Jack's ears were fuming like a steam locomotive. Obviously, it was all Pitch's fault, but that wasn't breaking news, exactly, was it.

"Pitch, just leave. _Leave_! You've done _enough_!" Anna raged and tried to push him, but Pitch indifferently teleported a meter away and made her fall to the floor with a 'thump'.

"I didn't even do it, fool. She interfered by using her powers against us, and... argh, I've already explained this twice," he said with a dull expression on his face, and tossed Anna away when she tried to come at him again.

"She did this to herself," Pitch grumbled.

"What is _wrong _with you!? You sick, sick, _sick _man! Do you even know what 'conscience' or _'I'm sorry' _is!?" Anna shouted. "I'm really hoping for your sake that Elsa is okay!"

When Anna went into Elsa's bedroom, where the town doctor had just been to consider her condition, Jack turned to Pitch.

"Pitch, maybe you should just go. No one wants you here, anyway," Jack said, holding on to that staff of his. "If you really care about Elsa-"

"I don't care about... -you know what? Believe what ever the hell you want," Pitch grunted. There was no point in trying to explain things to stupid beings like _Jack Frost _or Miss _Firehead_. "But you did this. _You _threw the bloody snowball at her. You provoked me, you little bastard!" He grabbed Jack's hoodie, and the guardian of _fun _swung the staff and hit him in the head.

"Don't touch me, Boogey. Just get out of here!" Jack tore away from him and wiped off the nightmare sand that had got stuck on the hoodie fabric. "I saw you and Elsa in the forest, okay? And you know what that's called?"

"I know exactly what that's called. That's called 'you are a pervert'," Pitch replied.

Jack shook his head, so his snow white locks wiggled. "It's called 'caring'. Geez, Pitch! Why can't you just admit it!?"

"I don't care for her, Jackie! Not in the least!" Pitch shot back. "You're forgetting who you're talking to. So why don't you just run off to your little guardian friends, while you still have feet to run with?"

"Why don't _you _run off to your lair, huh? Why are you here, waiting!?" Jack shouted. "Because _YOU CARE_!"

When Pitch did nothing but stand there, glaring, Jack continued. "And if you do care, you leave this place and leave her alone. Don't make her go with you. Just give up."

"I. Don't. Ca-"

The door was opened slowly, making it creak, and Elsa, who did not look at all like she'd been when Jack had carried her down from the forest, peeked out. Her platinum blonde hair was loose around her shoulders, she didn't wear any of that annoying _makeup, _and her cheeks were pink. "Are you two still here?" she asked, and winced a little when she noticed how angry she sounded._  
_

"We just... _I _just wanted to make sure you were alright," Jack said.

"Oh, for Manny's sake," Pitch groaned.

"How are you?" asked Jack, ignoring Pitch. Elsa held up her arm, which was wrapped into some kind of band, hanging around her neck. "I have to wear this for a couple of weeks, but I'm fine, thanks. You too, Pitch. I appreciate your concern."

Pitch looked at her, hearing the slight sarcasm in her voice. "It wasn't even me, alright? You used your powers at the worst of times. But you didn't die, so build a bridge, and get over it."

"But someone else might have! Did you even think about that we may not have been the only ones in that forest, Pitch? You're unbelieveable." She walked past him, and Pitch noticed that she wasn't wearing shoes. Her cute, little feet made her look so much shorter, walking across the room. Wasn't that inapproperiate? To not have any footwear on? He didn't care, anyway. She looked surprisingly attractive to him, and he unwillingly imagined for a moment how she would look without that dress on...

Pitch tilted his head to the side. "Where are you going?"

"I'm telling Truls to go search for people in the forest," Elsa replied.

"Elsa!" Anna rushed out of the bedroom, pushed Pitch to the side and took her sister by the shoulders. "I'll do it. You should go and put on some shoes!"

Elsa turned around, and in the light of the chandeliers, she reminded Pitch awfully about someone. "Fine." She disappeared back into her bedroom and slammed the door.

Minutes went by.

"I'm gonna go. I've got a job to do," Jack said. "You better stay away, Pitch. For her."

"Piss off, Snowboy," Pitch replied in a voice dipped in fake sweetness.

Jack disappeared out the door, leaving a trail of glittering ice. Pitch waited a minute, then knocked on Elsa's bedroom door. "Queenie, I'm entering the room now," he mumbled and twisted the door handle. Elsa was standing in front of a mirror, trying to braid her hair. "Thank you for respecting my privacy," she said dryly. "Did Jack go?"

"Of course he did," Pitch grunted and looked around the room. He knew this room. Not so many years ago, he'd felt the fear of a little... girl...

He turned to look at Elsa, who was still struggling to fix her hair. A little girl, who'd been afraid of herself, that was why Pitch knew this room. He frowned and looked at the windows. There were frames of ice, gracing them.

"Pitch, I... I do think we need to talk," Elsa said. She turned around. "Earlier today, before the whole Jack-thing..."

Pitch sighed. "Oh, that? That was nothing!" he said, letting out a laugh. "And even less to speak of!"

Elsa put her hands on her elbows and suddenly lost some of her usual elegance and gracefulness. She forced herself to smile a little. "Really? I'm- I'm glad to hear that. Because, as you know, I'm the ruler of this land. A Queen. And a Queen has certain duties."

Pitch didn't answer. He just stood there, glancing at her. She looked a bit unsafe, her eyes flickering around the room. Pitch felt the guilt stab him in the stomach when he felt the urge to wrap his arms around her body. Not to strangle or threaten her in any way, but... just to be close to her. She was almost irresistible, with her slightly messy braid, her adorably blushing cheeks, her lips... Pitch felt the need to groan. Even the stupid looking bandage-thing around her arm seemed sexy to him.

"What kind of duties?" he asked stiffly, just to get his mind off other things. Elsa let her arms fall, and straightened her back. "Well, I can't just run off into the forest, for example," she said.

Pitch laughed mockingly. "Queenie, what on earth does that have to do with me almost kissing you?" he asked sharply.

Elsa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "So you _do _want to talk about it," she said in a low voice.

"Not really, but feel free to share your thoughts," Pitch replied, and lazily sat down on a small, dark green couch in the middle of the room.

"Well, first of all; we barely know each other. And I'm a Queen-"

"Yes, I know you're a Queen, Queenie," Pitch said. "Can't understand how you possibly can feel like I needed to be reminded of that."

"Will you let me finish, please?" Elsa wondered.

"I already know what you're going to say, Queenie," Pitch replied and glued a smile to his face. "That I'm the spirit of darkness, and you can't kiss the spirit of darkness, so therefore we can't spend any more time together! But you know what? I don't care! Sure, we've only known for- what? Three, four days? But if I want to, I am going to kiss you, and kiss you hard, is that understood? We're not going to marry each other, because you're becoming the spirit of winter, and you're coming with me."

"What? No!" Elsa protested. "I already told you that I don't want that!"

"You really don't have much of a choice," Pitch murmured.

"Why would you force me into it? I thought- I thought we were friends!" Elsa said. Pitch laughed. "Friends? I'm the spirit of darkness. I don't make friends. I was only nice to you to convince you to join me, but since you obviously aren't going to do it willingly..."

"Get out," Elsa said. "Leave me alone, and don't ever come back."

Pitch rose from the chair and walked over to her. Elsa stepped backwards and stared at him like the rabbit stared at the fox. Her eyes were wide, and she looked at him like he was a monster. And he was, at least for doing this.

"Just go," Elsa begged. Pitch was about to stroke her hair, but she pushed him away with both hands. "Leave me alone, Pitch!"

"Very well," Pitch said, feeling anger graduallt rise inside him like boiling water. "You want to be left alone?" he asked, and scowled. "Done. But first..." He took Elsa's head in his hands. She felt... so tiny. And scared. Why was he doing this? Elsa would never... think of him as more than a... but he didn't need that. He needed to be the bad guy, to be in control. Pitch kissed her hard and posessively, and tried to enjoy the feeling of her useless resistance.

He could control her as a spirit. It wouldn't be that hard. Whenever she started to get difficult, he could trap her powers in handcuffs, and wait for her to obey him again.

Suddenly, Elsa got a firm grip of Pitch's arms, and he thought that she was beginning to enjoy herself, but he was terribly wrong. She sent a cold shock of ice straight into his muscles, making him tear away from her. "What did you do!?" he roared.

"It's not going to go away, unless you promise to leave me alone," Elsa said, rubbing her mouth with the back of her hand. "Do you promise?"

"Make it stop, make it stop!" Pitch shouted. It felt like a hundred knives was driven again and again into his arms. He tried to lift his arms to make Onyx appear, but he couldn't move them. The pain was so excruciating, and he almost felt like crying. "Make it STOP!"

"Say you'll leave me alone!" she demanded.

"No," Pitch panted. "Just make it stop! You're hurting me!"

"Well, you hurt me!"

"Not physically!"

"I can't believe I didn't listen to Jack. He was telling the truth all along. I actually thought that there was something else to you than darkness," Elsa said. "That you were... as lonely as I've been. That you were misunderstood, and in need for a friend. But..."

"I am! I was just... I was just afraid! Of not being the bad guy anymore! Queenie... Elsa, just make the pain stop! Please!" he bent down against the floor and whimpered helplessly.

"Pitch, just say you'll leave me alone," she whispered, trying as hard as she could to hold back the tears.

"I can't!"

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Argh, Queenie, I already told you!" Pitch snapped. "Please. Just... just take it away!"

Elsa stood there, maybe for a minute, watching him suffer before she sat down on her knees before him and caressed his face. "Just hold still," she mumbled. She tucked some hair out of his face and stroke his cheek tenderly with her right hand - the one that wasn't nearly broken - "I'm sorry. You must feel tortured, having me touching you when you don't even care about me. But it's the only way to remove the pain. Love."

Pitch could feel the ice melt away, and eventually, he was painfree.

"Love," he said in disbelief.

"You didn't mean the things you said, right?" Elsa hadn't removed her hand yet. "You're not 'just afraid of being the bad guy'."

Pitch didn't answer. He took her wrist and jerked her hand away from his face. "I'm going," he grunted, and got on his feet.

He walked out of the room, leaving Elsa feeling cold, numb and more alone than ever.


End file.
